Surfing Krui / Lampung

Left Reef · Best Apr-Oct · 4-12 ft · Crowd 1/5

Consistent SW swell, E-NE offshore wind

Way Jambu, south of Krui, is a thick, square left barrel over shallow, sharp reef. It's one of the heaviest waves on this coast.

It needs a solid SW swell (4-12ft), east to north-east winds and the right tide, and enough experience to handle it. The takeoff is critical and the wave is basically one barrel. The camp owners in the area know when it's working and are the best source of information.

On a big day locals come to watch from the point. Bring a barrel board and a spare, and wear booties. Experts only.

Left Reef · Best May-Sep · 3-8 ft · Crowd 4/5

SW swell, E/SE offshore wind

Ujung Bocur is the point at Tanjung Setia, a left that runs for 200 metres or more on good days. It keeps standing up section after section, so rides are long and tiring.

It's the most consistent wave on the Krui coast. It picks up most SW swells and stays surfable through most of them, and it's long enough that even a busy lineup gets plenty of waves. Normal size is 3-8ft on E-SE winds.

Intermediates and advanced surfers spend a lot of their trip here, and the camps along Tanjung Setia face the wave. An everyday shortboard with a bit of paddle is ideal. The current runs up the point, so keep paddling.

Beach Break · Best May-Aug · 2-5 ft · Crowd 1/5

W/SW swell, good morning wind

Mandiri Beach is a long stretch of dark sand south of Krui town with shifting beach-break peaks. It's where people go when the points are too small or too crowded, and you can usually find a peak to yourself.

The banks move with the seasons and after river floods, so drive along the beach road and look. Some days there are wedgy lefts, other days rampy rights or even barrels. At 2-6ft in the morning it suits all levels; bigger days bring rips and a heavy shore break.

The camps use the gentler banks for beginner lessons. There's nothing glamorous about it, but it's almost always surfable. Any board works.

Left Reef · Best May-Sep · 3-6 ft · Crowd 2/5

SW swell, E wind

Krui Left breaks over reef right in front of town, a fun and consistent left five minutes from most losmen. You can check it on foot at first light.

It has good shape at 3-6ft, the sections link up on the better tides, and there's enough power for advanced surfers while intermediates get used to reef. East-wind mornings are clean, and the evening glass-off brings most of the town's surfers out.

It's where visitors meet the local crew, so manners count. Ride your normal shortboard, or a fish when it's small. Get a coconut on the seawall afterwards.

Right Reef · Best May-Sep · 2-6 ft · Crowd 2/5

SW swell, E-SE wind

Krui Right breaks off the other side of the town reef. It's shorter and softer than the Left, and useful for your first day, small swells and regular-footers who want to surf forehand on a coast full of lefts.

It works at 2-6ft with easy takeoffs and walls you can turn on, over reef with a bit of depth. When the bigger waves on the coast are too big or blown out, the Right is usually still surfable.

The lineup is friendly, with local kids, visitors getting over jet lag and some longboarders. Bring whatever board you enjoy most.

Right Reef · Best May-Sep · 3-8 ft · Crowd 2/5

SW swell, W-NW offshore wind, all tides

Jenny's Rights is a right over reef north of Krui, the first of the breaks you reach on the coast road heading north out of town. It peels for up to about 100 metres, with open walls and some barrel sections, before closing out on the shallow end of the reef.

What makes it useful is the wind: it's one of the few waves on this coast that's offshore in a west or north-west wind, so it's a good option in the off-season, when the spots around Tanjung Setia are blown out. It works at all tides, from waist high to about double overhead, and suits intermediate and advanced surfers. It's usually quiet.

Left & Right Reef · Best May-Sep · 3-8 ft · Crowd 1/5

SW swell, NE offshore wind, high tide

Jimmy's is a reef further up the coast north of Krui, beyond Jenny's Rights, with a right and a left breaking off the same reef. The end of the right is very shallow and can almost dry out at low tide, so it's best around high tide, with a north-east wind offshore.

It's a wave for advanced surfers who are comfortable over shallow reef. Few people make the drive, so there's usually space. Follow the road north from Krui and turn off through the village to the coast.